We invite you to the performance of Vilnius String Quartet, whose programme includes works by Lithuanian and Polish composers. The names of Stanisław Moniuszko and Karol Szymanowski are well known to Polish listeners, while Jurgis Karnavičius is hardly a household name here, and yet worth knowing.

Karnavičius belonged to the same generation as Karol Szymanowski. The concert will feature his String Quartet No. 1 in G minor op. 1 written in 1913. In his home country, the composer is known primarily as an author of operas, but the chamber work that will be presented tonight is also worth attention. It is a four-movement composition distinguished not only by perfectly mastered craft, but also by the author’s ability to create music that is accessible and full of memorable melodies.

Stanisław Moniuszko’s output consist mostly of operas, too. Both of his string quartets are early compositions, completed ca. 1839 and dedicated to Józef Elsner. The author of Halka was fascinated at that time with the music of the Viennese Classicists, hence the third movement, although named Scherzo, is in fact a minuet, a court dance kept in triple metre. The String Quartet in F major is characterized by a cheerful mood and delightful melody.

The most advanced and radical composition in terms of colours, harmony and texture will be Karol Szymanowski’s String Quartet No. 2. It is also the latest work of the three included in the concert programme, written in the fall of 1927. In this music, we can find echoes of the composer’s fascination with the folk music of Podhale, and folk melodies quoted here were also used the Harnasie ballet. What is striking here is Szymanowski’s treatment of tone colours and the bold introduction of dissonant chords into the narrative. All these elements make this work extraordinarily original, and it has not lost any of its freshness and power of expression to this day.